Holland America’s Half Moon Cay turns 15 this year. This private Bahamanian island is widely considered to be among the best private beach islands that cruise lines use today, and this year Holland America is upping their game by offering guests the biggest private island upgrade yet, a beach villa. Read more...

It seems that like every new ship that comes out adds another bell or whistle to the on board experience these days. There’s always something unique about a new ship. A new experience, a new feature – but sometimes it just rings hollow. Sometimes there’s a lot of flash, but no fireworks. The Norwegian Breakaway, which premieres in May of this year will have the flash and the bang, literally. Read more...

Once upon a time back in 1953, a famous British sea captain by the name of Capt. George Soule sailed from his native island of Barbados on a quest to find the ultimate Caribbean cocktail.

He searched Guadeloupe for Guava Gimlets, Saba for Sour Sop Sodas and Martinique for Mango Margaritas. His quest ended on the island of St. Thomas in the U.S Virgin Islands at a place called Mountain Top. Read more...

Cruising into Jamaica has always been a bit of a challenge. Getting into Ocho Rios gives guests a great opportunity to visit Dunns River Falls, and Montego Bay has amazing beaches and a lot of fun places to visit. But until recently, guests have often had to choose doing one or the other. Now, though, Royal Caribbean has opened its new port – Falmouth, Jamaica – located between the two traditional port cities and offering a great option to experience more of the best that Jamaica has to offer. Read more...

Walt Disney World and innovation go hand in hand. The complex of parks and resorts in Orlando have revolutionized the way people travel and the way people experience theme parks, and coming this year Disney is taking the experience one step further with the My Magic+ program. This is part of an 800 million dollar initiative to modernize and improve the time people spend in their parks and resorts. Read more...

One of the must-see destinations in Italy is the Vatican. The world’s smallest sovereign state, it is home to St. Peter’s Basilica, the Sistine Chapel and countless priceless treasures worth a day in the Vatican Museums. But as of December 31, access is cash-only. Read more...

Blog contributor Jackie Sheckler Finch loves river cruising, and recently spent some extra time in Memphis before her American Queen river sailing.

Since Memphis is the American Queen’s new homeport and Priscilla Presley is the boat’s godmother, I thought I’d visit the home of the city’s most famous son when I arrived a day early for my cruise. Read more...

That red-eye finally got into JFK. Somehow that coach seat was actually comfortable, and here it is 7 AM, and there’s a full day to kill before the cruise and no need for a nap. But having such a short time to spend in such a huge city is a little overwhelming. Need to know the major things to hit in the city that never sleeps? Here’s our best 24 hour schedule for New York City. Read more...

It’s the big open secret in US travel these days. Not enough people know about it, but they should. American travelers can see Cuba again, despite the general embargo on our neighbor to the south. Now, there is a catch – this isn’t going to be the normal “fun in the sun” beach holiday that most Caribbean travel becomes. Cuba is open for US citizens to see, but only in person-to-person cultural exchange programs. Read more...

We’re going to admit this, and it isn’t easy. When we were in the office compiling the list of travel destinations that would be on our lists for 2013, the movies had an affect on us. Well one movie, at least… The Hobbit. Filmed in New Zealand, it ended up putting a wonderful focus on the small, oft-forgotten cousin as an exciting, exotic destination that isn’t so far as you might think. Read more...